​​Welcome to the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutics at the college of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah (UOS). The department combines two integrative units; the pharmacology and the pharmacy practice. The Department's mission is to enhance the international stature of the College and of the UOS by combining high quality teaching with internationally recognized research.

Faculty members of the department are actively engaged with the community through membership of various committees of consultancy to the Ministry of Health, delivering lectures on important health issues and rational drug use, continuing pharmaceutical education activities to health professionals, and radio, TV and news paper interviews and articles aimed at promoting healthy lifestyle and increasing awareness of public to safe and effective use of medications.

The main teaching commitments in the pharmacology unit are to undergraduate students in the whole medical campus (Colleges of Pharmacy, Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences). Our qualified faculty members use modern teaching methodologies like problem-based learning (PBL) and team-based learning (TBL) in conducting their classes. Moreover, our faculty members are involved in the postgraduate master and PhD programs in molecular medicine offered by the Sharjah Institute for Medical Research (SIMR) located at the heart of the medical campus.

Major research areas of the pharmacology unit include cancer research and neuroscience. In collaboration with the Medicinal Chemistry Department, we are engaged in two projects aimed at the development of molecularly targeted compounds for cancer and Alzheimers' diseases. The Department is well equipped with communal facilities for molecular biology, cell culture, centrifugation, microscopy (including fluorescence and confocal microscopy) and PCR. Every office and lab has access to computer networks and IT resources. Efforts are in progress to establish a program for master of pharmaceutical sciences with pharmacology and pharmacy practice being a main focus in the near future.

As the other arm of the Department, the Pharmacy Practice unit supports the College of Pharmacy's vision by providing an education to students that enables them to acquire in-depth expertise in the pharmaceutical, social/economic management, and related sciences. The experience and knowledge of the faculty of the Pharmacy Practice unit enable students to receive excellent training necessary for well-rounded practitioners. The curriculum includes general, scientific, and patient-centered content that prepares pharmacy graduates to deliver effective and cost-efficient pharmaceutical care. The unit also provides education and training related to professional practice, including application of the pharmaceutical sciences to patient care with an up-to-date pharmacy education that adopts an international teaching philosophy fitted for the local context. The unit also involves students in hands-on approach through structured student training in hospital, community, clinic and drug information settings that emphasize clinical experience, patient-centered care and rational drug use.

The faculty of pharmacy practice unit have wide research interests that include medication safety and medication errors, rational use of medicines, patient medication adherence, health promotion, guidelines for better drug prescribing, clinical pharmacokinetic, therapeutic drug monitoring, newer treatments in anticoagulation therapy and studying the characteristics of pharmacy practice in the UAE, in addition to pharmacy continuing education. ​ ​RAAFAT ABDEL-GAWAD EL-AWADY (PHD)Head of Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutics